C&C - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Series Talkback

[Mr. Anime]

Once upon a time in 2001:

In April of 1979, there came an anime series unlike any other at the time. While there had been giant robot series before it, they had been fanciful tales of hot blooded heroes saving the day from mad scientists, demons and alien invaders in their Super Robots. None had been serious dramas about what if human beings went to war using such giant machines.

Mobile Suit Gundam changed all that.

Now, get ready to see the prequel to the series that launched a franchise that is basically Japan's version of Star Wars and played a major role in the history of Toonami.

 

[Yojimbo]

Ah yes, the Zabi, the Deikun, and the Munzo. Honestly, I bet a lot of the differences with the original source material will fly over my head...

 

[PicardMan]

Another empty (the emptiest) talkback thread here. Starting to wonder about Toonami's choices considering how the talkback threads are substantially more bare than with what aired before. No UC Gundam really works without seeing the original, which happens to be streaming limbo as it seems that Unicorn, 08th MS Team, and this are easy to find streaming, but not the original.

 

[Yojimbo]

Another empty (the emptiest) talkback thread here.

I hope it's a case of people letting their DVR record while they go out/go to sleep.

No UC Gundam really works without seeing the original, which happens to be streaming limbo as it seems that Unicorn, 08th MS Team, and this are easy to find streaming, but not the original.

That's strange a very popular franchise isn't completely and readily available for streaming.

 

[PicardMan]

That's strange a very popular franchise isn't completely and readily available for streaming.

I do know that old anime tend to have licensing issues, but I know that the original Gundam is on Blu Ray and a few old school anime titles are still easily findable on streams, like 70s Lupin and Robotech. I wouldn't think it would be that costly to have the original Gundam up for streaming and I know that there's a sizeable number of people who are discovering Robotech for the first time via Netflix. I guess that we'll see if anybody DVRd if this talkback thread comes back from the grave.

 

[Nobodyman]

Incidentally, I actually bought the Blu-rays of the original Mobile Suit Gundam and watched it for the first time about a year ago. As for this series, I didn't see it on demand on my cable service, but they do have the OVA version on Hulu, so I decided to watch that. I won't get into details since the first OVA episode covers more than this episode, but I'm really enjoying it so far, and this show has some stellar animation. And I know Gundam can be confusing, but I don't think this series should be too hard for newcomers to follow.

 

[Light Lucario]

I thought that this episode was okay. It kind of just jumped right into the situation without really explaining who these characters are, what the political situation is or really much of anything beyond how people were murdered. Admittedly, this approach can work and I'm sure that this is targeted more towards long time fans rather than making it easier for newcomers. With that said, I wasn't really bored watching this episode. Stuff was happening, which is more than I can say for Gundam Unicorn and its dry exposition. Hearing Veronica Taylor in a more recent dub is always a nice treat. It got more interesting near the end, but then we got an abrupt cut to the ending credit. I'm sure that is the result of cutting up an OVA into a TV series.

Overall, it was an okay episode. It didn't really blow me away, but it didn't turn me off either, so I'd be okay with giving it another couple of episodes to see if it is more appealing to me.

 

[Grenzer]

I knew there might be an issue here with people who never watched the original UC Gundam. Even though this is a reboot, and a prequel on top of that. You simply will not have the ability to connect with these characters and events without being knowledgeable about the original series.

You know, tonight I'll make a post in the new thread giving some more background to what is happening. Both for last week's episode and tonight's, after it airs of course. UC Gundam is one of the most iconic and influential franchises in all of anime, so it deserves that much.

 

[Yojimbo]

Lady Hamon's arrival in the battle tank mobile suit was the most entertaining thing. And if I remember right, in the original series, she didn't have an actual rank either, hence those two jerk pilots calling her Miss Fake Lieutenant.

Ramba Ral's flat tire ruse, the closed lanes -- hilarity.

Ah yes, Char has awakened...

The kitten boucing off of Hamon's head, heh. Not as funny as the scratches all over Ral's face at the bar but still.

Yeah, makes sense Kycilia Zabi would see through the ruse. Head of state police after all.

 

[Light Lucario]

I thought that this episode was pretty good. While I'm still confused over the characters' names and the setting, I felt really bad for the mother as she tried to reassure her daughter. The chances are excellent that she is going to die, which is one reason why they wanted her children to go to Earth, so she told her daughter a pretty lie in order to calm her down enough to go to Earth.

The struggle to leave was pretty intense, especially with that chase scene and the boy firing back at those tanks. The woman helping them was pretty cool, although I wonder if she survives after helping them. Overall, it was a pretty good episode.

 

[Grenzer]

As I promised, this post will be designed to give some context to those who are watching this series with no or limited knowledge of UC Gundam. It contains spoilers for the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime that premiered forty years ago in 1979. However, since the show is so old at this point, and the ability to grasp many of the plot points being introduced here is tied to knowledge of that series and its sequels, spoilers will not be marked. Furthermore, Gundam: The Origin is a reboot of many of the events from the original MSG, so simply knowing this information will not spoil you about what exactly will happen in this show.



So, without further ado...

The Republic of Munzo/Zeon: In the original series, this collection of space colonies* becomes the despotic Duchy/Principality of Zeon that are the antagonists to our heroes, the crew of the Space Federation battleship White Base. Located at Side 3 (a side being a large grouping of colonies anchored to a certain Lagrange Point), they declared independence about a decade before the start of Mobile Suit Gundam, and then declared war on the Federation in the year UC (Universal Century) 079. The name Munzo was created for this series, in older material it was always referred to as the Republic of Zeon.

Zeon Zum Deikun - The bearded man you saw at the beginning of episode 1, whose death sets off the events of this series. Namesake of the Zeon state. He was a politician who created a philosophy that humans who had settled in space colonies were evolving into a new species. He coined the term Newtype for this breed of man, who consciousness could reach across all existence, even into the souls of other people. Because of that, all of humanity needed to leave for space into order to reach the next phase of interstellar civilization. At the same time, Earth was a sacred place that needed to be abandoned to nature, so that the remaining lifeforms there could be allowed to flourish in peace.

As you can guess, most people in the Gundam universe see Zeon as sort of an unhinged crackpot, but the Zabi family used his ideas to indoctrinate their subjects into believing they are a master race who will conquer the Federation and the inferior humans who still live on Earth. His death made him a martyr whose name is used to inspire the Zeon soldiers to fight on despite their nation being hopelessly outnumbered by the rest of humanity. As an aside, the majority of humans in UC Gundam live in space colonies, but most are loyal to the Federation and oppose Zeon, something that causes no shortage of social tension through the story.

Zeon Zum Deikun was also the father of...

Casval Rem and Artesia Som Deikun- This is like telling anyone over the age of ten that Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. These two are better known to Gundam fans as Char Aznable and Sayla Mass. Char is the titular "Red Comet" that is mentioned in the The Origin's full title. He is also one of the most famous and heavily copied characters in all of anime, so an explanation of his role is in order.

In the original series, Char is hero Amuro Ray's chief enemy for the run of the story. Their rivalry becomes deep, personal, and bitter. It is the stuff of legends, and has been copied in so many other shows over the past four decades that I could not even begin to list all of them. Char is the prototype for just about every mysterious masked anti-hero/anti-villain in Sci-fi anime, and in Japan is about as well known as the above-mentioned Vader. The Origin is his story, and how he came to be the deadly ace pilot later seen in Mobile Suit Gundam.

As you have already seen, Casval/Char lives under the belief that the Zabi family murdered his father to take control of Munzo. His whole life after that event became one massive odyssey to pay them back the favor. While playing the role of an ace mecha pilot in Zeon's military, he relentlessly conspires to overthrow the Zabi dictatorship. This is one of the reasons Char became the most iconic character of the Gundam franchise. He is one of the first examples in modern fiction of a villain whose motives exist outside of being an obstacle opposing the heroes in their quest for peace and justice. Realistically, his conflict with the crew of the White Base in the original series is a sideshow to his own ambition of killing the Zabi family. And his battles with Amuro would seem even more insignificant except for one little factor...

Artesia/Sayla has become a Federation soldier who is on the White Base and has a crush on Amuro. I could explain more, but I assume The Origin will be getting into this with more detail, so just file that info away for now.

Char is a brilliant but mercurial figure, with motives that change greatly over the course of various Gundam shows and movies. He grows as a man and also devolves as well. His flaws are never glossed over, but you have to admire him regardless. However, it should be noted that he comes to wholly embrace his father's legacy and this has huge implications on the story.


If you watched Gundam Unicorn a few years ago, you might have noticed the character of Full Frontal was believed to be the return of Char under a new name. That is a story for another time, but that Frontal could collect so many devoted followers because of that belief should give you an idea of just how revered Char is within the UC universe.

Now this post is turning out to be a lot longer than I anticipated, so I will wrap up for now. Next, I will get more into the Zabi family, Ramba Ral, and Zeon. In the meantime, I hope that at least some questions about this show were answered. Good night.

* As an aside, colonies in the UC timeline (and many Gundam AUs) were based on the theories of Gerard O'Neill, who was a prominent real-life proponent of space exploration back in the 1970's when the show was being made. See the links for more info.

Edit: Char's role in 079 in a nutshell (I really can't help myself):

 

[Grenzer]

As promised, I now present Part Two of a primer on UC Gundam:

Principality/Duchy of Zeon*: When the Zabi family (see below) seized power, they converted the Republic of Munzo into a monarchy with fascist undertones under the rule of Degwin Zabi (the bald man with the sunglasses). Degwin claimed the title of Sodo, which means lord, and promoted his children to various high-ranking positions in the military, which became the dominant branch of Zeon's government. The Principality consists of about forty colonies total, with a population of 150 million people. This seems impressive, but Zeon's population is only about 2% of the Federation's, and without control of the Earth, Moon, or asteroid bases it is very poor in natural resources.

Further complicating matters, by the time the original Mobile Suit Gundam series takes place, Degwin has been reduced to a mere figurehead by his two eldest surviving children, Gihren and Kycilia. The stunning successes of Zeon's forces in the early months of the One Year War makes them arrogant, and the Principality's leadership becomes dangerously unfocused at a time when the Federation is gaining a second wind. This low-grade conflict between Gihren and Kycilia blows up in the last arc of the show, and intersects with Char's increasingly aggressive moves to undercut the Zabi family, and the White Base crew's key role in destroying the last strongholds of Zeon military power.

I don't think it is much of a spoiler to tell you that Zeon loses the One Year War. If you watched Unicorn, you know that a whole generation of children grow up knowing Zeon only as a failed stated that was dismantled in a similar fashion to Nazi Germany after World War II. But as the Federation is also a very corrupt, violent government in its own right, there are no lack of crypto-Zeon supporters who would love for it to rise again, and allow the people of the space colonies to gain independence from the Federation once and for all. This provides much of the grist for conflict in later installments of UC Gundam such as 0083, ZZ Gundam, and Char's Counterattack.

Zabi Family: We have already talked a lot about these guys collectively, but it is a good idea to give a brief spotlight on each individual family member and his/her role in the story:

Degwin: The toad-like family patriarch. Scheming and power-hungry, but not cold-blooded or fanatical like Gihren and Kycilia. He realizes only too late what horrors he has unleashed upon humanity and has a measure of regret for it.

Gihren: The eldest son, arguably the central villain of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime. A tall man with slicked-back silver hair. Ironically, Amuro and the White Base crew never meet him in person, and he is aware of them only in the way a general is aware of a group of especially dangerous enemy soldiers. Gihren is a high-functioning sociopath with no true affection for any other human besides himself, but he is brilliant and charismatic. He gives one of the most famous speeches in any anime ever, which has been widely emulated (and parodied) in a vast number of other shows.

(minor spoilers in the clip below)

Even Degwin thinks his son is the UC's version of Adolf Hitler, and Gihren took that as a compliment.


Sasro: Created for The Origin, his main contribution is to slap Kycilia and call her stupid, and then be blown to charbroiled bits just days later. Do the math.

Kycilia: The only daughter, but no less formidable than her brothers. She is a smidge bit more principled than Gihren but still cold and calculating. In her quest to succeed her father, she has charmed a number of key Zeon senior officers and ace pilots and made them fanatically loyal to her. Kycilia's major weakness is her infatuation with Char, who of course uses it when needed to get the supplies he needs for his troops. To say anymore right now would give away more of the plot than necessary.

Dozle: The brutish-looking giant of the family, but surprisingly insightful and chivalrous. His soldiers adore him, and he in turn is saddened by the great sacrifices they have made in order to win the war. Dozle is actually a decent person, but unfortunately totally under the thumb of his elder siblings. He may privately question the morality of Zeon's actions, but he would never defy Gihren or Kycilia's orders and helped plan many war crimes during the opening stages of the One Year War. Towards the end of the show, he fights the Federation forces in his own personal mobile armor, knowing full well that even if he were taken alive he would be tried and hanged as a war criminal.

There is a reason I am giving a lot of focus on Dozle. He is the only member of the Zabi siblings with a family. He is deeply in love with his wife and their infant daughter, and would do anything to make sure they escape punishment by the Federation. His daughter is named Mineva Lao Zabi, and after spending a lonely childhood in exile used as a pawn by Neo-Zeon supporters, she assumes the identity of Audrey Burne to live a normal life. And now you have a little more context on what was going on in the earlier episodes of Unicorn. It is no small irony that the last child of the Zabi ended up living an existence similar to the children of Zeon Zum Deikum. Hopefully she avoids the mistakes Char made...

Garma: The baby of the family. He is a half-sibling to the others, and the only child of Degwin's beloved second wife. Handsome, easy-going, and lacking the ruthlessness typical of a Zabi, he is nonetheless loved by both his father and the common people of Zeon. He befriends Char during their days at the military academy, oblivious to who he is truly dealing with, a mistake that will cost him dearly in the years to come...



I'll cut if off here for now. We still have to talk about Ramba Ral and his clique, and the Federation after them, but it is best to save that for another post(s). Good reading everyone.


*You will see different translations of this nation's name depending on what official release you are watching/reading. That is because Gundam has been around for a very long time, but up until c. 2000 or so there was very little guidance from Sunrise on how names should be rendered in English. The original name in Japanese is Jion Koukoku, and koukoku is a generic name for any sort of political state ruled by a crowned monarch, regardless of the title. Principality has become the preferred translation.

 

[Grenzer]

Now Part 3:

Ramba Ral: Ah, good old Ral. If Char rivaled Darth Vader in popularity among Japanese sci-fi fans, then Ramba Ral was the Boba Fett of the Gundam franchise; receiving an outsized amount of love and attention from the fanbase in relation to his screentime in the series. And I'm talking about the sort of love Boba Fett got before the prequels ruined a lot of the mystique behind him, if you are old enough to remember those halcyon days.

Geez, I am such an old fart. I'll probably be still talking about this stuff when they cart me off to the nursing home.

So about Ral. In the original Mobile Suit Gundam, he is introduced after the end of the first major story arc, when Char is temporarily demoted for (among other things) having messed up one time too many in his assignment of destroying the White Base and the original Gundam mobile suit. Ral, a veteran combat officer in charge of a crack team of mobile suit pilots and assorted tanks and infantry is ordered to finish the job his predecessor could not.

This is a plot twist that had been in many stories long before Gundam, and hardly exclusive to Japanese animation. But it was the way Ral came off during his brief time in the spotlight that made a big impact on viewers.

Ral is a nice guy, an extremely admirable man who just happens to be fighting for a very bad cause. Something he is painfully aware of, but is simply too loyal to the old ideals of Zeon to actively betray the regime or defect from it. Gundam may have been the first children's cartoon to introduce this kind of moral dilemma. Before the 1980's, and even long afterwards it was commonplace to show villains as nothing but black-hearted fiends who commit evil acts simply for the love of it and the hatred of all things good. Ral's story defied that trope, and it had a major influence on storytelling in anime for years to come.

It also helps that Ral was a very formidable opponent for Amuro, in many ways even more dangerous than Char due to his many years of combat experience and no-nonsense fighting style. In their first fight he gives Amuro one of the fiercest butt-kickings ever shown in a mecha anime up to that time and delivers what became his most iconic line.

"This is no Zaku*, boy! No Zaku!"

Amuro meets Ral outside of combat after he deserts his post (long story), and comes to admire the man and his principles, while slowly coming to terms with the harsh truth that he is going to have to kill Ral in order to protect his friends and make humanity safe from Zeon, further highlighting the tragedy of war and the choices it forces on people.

After the span of a few episodes, our heroes outplay Ral and destroy his mobile suits. Not a man to take things lying down, he launches a commando raid against White Base armed only with infantry weapons and almost succeeds before he runs into Sayla, who he has not seen since she was a child. That moment of distraction does Ral in.

"Behold the ultimate fate of all true warriors."

Can you tell I'm a big Ramba Ral fanboy? I'm not sure it's coming through clearly enough in this post.

Despite his death, Ral went on to play a big role in Gundam merchandise, including video games with the opportunity to play as him and alternate endings where he survives. No big shock then that when The Origin was animated, he received a prominent focus in it. He was also the direct inspiration for Charles Beams from Eureka Seven, Andrew Waltfeld from Gundam Seed, Norris Packard in Gundam 08th MS Team, and a bunch of other characters as well.

Perhaps another reason for Ramba Ral's popularity was his being accompanied by his beautiful girlfriend and partner in crime...

Crowley Hamon: Hamon (she was always referred to by her last name, even by Ral) is officially a civilian attached to Ral's unit for... reasons. Having already watched the first two episodes of Origin, you know those 'reasons' are that she is a capable and resourceful intelligence officer who plans most of Ral's battle strategies and daring raids. He values her both as a fellow soldier and a woman, and Hamon sees him as the true love of her life. Their pairing is really touching when you think about it, too bad about whole working for Zeon bit.

Clamp: In the original TV series, a senior officer of Ral's unit. He made an appearance in episode 1 of The Origin as a bartender who mentioned to Ral he would gladly fight under his old boss if the opportunity arises again. A nice little Easter Egg for those in the know.

Jimba Ral: Ramba's dad. It is worth noting that his personality in The Origin is completely different from the old TV series. In MSG, he was a posthumous character shown in flashbacks as a kindly old guardian of Char and Sayla in their childhood; both of them had fond memories of him. In the The Origin... he is a cantankerous, paranoid coot who causes both Char and Ramba no little amount of problems with his rabid anti-Zabi politics. Even though there is no proof Degwin had Zeon murdered, Jimba pounds it into young Casval/Char's head that the Zabis were the only possible culprits, leading Char on his path of vengeance. Thanks a lot, Jimba. Not.

Next time, we start getting into the Federation, and Amuro Ray. Says a lot about how vast the lore of UC is that I needed three huge posts to set up a discussion about the main character of the franchise. C'est la vie. Good night.

*Zakus are the generic cannon fodder mecha of the Zeon military that Amuro vaporizes with casual ease in just about every episode of the original series. They have become as much a mascot of the UC franchise as the Gundam itself.

 

[Grenzer]

Part Quattro Bajeena... I mean Part 4

The Earth Federation: One of the near constants in the UC timeline is this powerful but inefficient and corrupt government that rules over almost the entirety of humanity residing in the Solar System. Formed by an alliance of wealthy industrialized countries in the latter half of the 21st century, the Federation has abolished all traditional national and state boundaries in its efforts to consolidate authority. The majority of the human population was shipped off to space in order to stave off ecological collapse on Earth and exploit new resources on the moon and on asteroids. The Federation also established a new calendar to symbolize the dawning of this new age of Space Colonization known as the 'Universal Century' calendar. We don't know exactly when the switch was made, but The Origin and Mobile Suit Gundam seem to take place sometime in the mid-22nd century.

In the original series, the year 0079 sees the 'Feddies' locked in a life-or-death struggle with Zeon, who have killed off a significant portion of humanity in just six months through the indiscriminate use of WMDs and the targeting of civilian population centers. The Earth Federation Forces, the military arm of the state, is having a very hard time defeating Zeon in open battle due to its outdated weapons and tactics. Most of its senior officers are lazy, cynical old men who never had to fight a serious battle before this war broke out and seem more concerned about saving their own hides rather than leading their soldiers to victory. You know, typical light-hearted fare for a weekly children's show designed to sell toys.

To even the score, the Federation begins a crash program called Project V, to develop a number of weapon systems that will outperform even the best that Zeon has to offer. The site of this secret project is the remote Side 7, where most of the population are first-generation settlers from either Earth or other sides. The most important weapon being developed is a mobile suit system given the serial number RX-78-2, but better known by its codename: Gundam.

And nearly completely oblivious to what is going on just down the road from his house is this guy...

Amuro Ray: Our hero, age fifteen. Easily one of the most famous anime protagonists of all time, in the same class as Son Goku, Lupin III, or Sailor Moon among Japanese audiences. Just about every protagonist in the legion of Gundam sequels are either based off of him, or made as a deliberate contrast to him. And the majority of post-1979 male leads in non-Gundam giant robot anime follow this same pattern. I could even point out some male leads in anime that have nothing to do with giant robots that show clear signs of being inspired by Amuro, even if the series creator was not thinking of him during the design process. Because that is how prevalent Amuro's archetype had become, it is a part of the greater influence in the medium the same way Kamehamehas define energy blasts or sailor uniforms define magical girls.

You see Amuro was unlike the other mecha pilot heroes who came before him. He was to put it bluntly a whiny, selfish introvert who resented the role he had been thrust into. And he was deeply hypocritical too: he claimed to hate violence but would often lash out at his enemies and even allies with great force when angered. And yet despite this he was at heart a good kid. He first entered the war to protect his friend Fraw Bow, but later realized all of humanity needed to be saved from the menace of Zeon. Amuro was a hero in spite of his flaws the same way Char was a villain in spite of his many appealing qualities.

But that is the meta view, what about his background within the story? Amuro was born on Earth in the former nation of Canada, the son of Tem and Kamaria Rey. His childhood was dysfunctional: Tem was a brilliant but emotionally distant weapons engineer who was enlisted by the Federation to develop the Gundam and other superweapons, and as such he tended to neglect his family for his work. Kamaria, a devout pacifist who believed living in space colonies was unnatural, abandoned her husband and son to stay on Earth. These emotional blows made Amuro an ill-adjusted social misfit who spent most of his days cooped up in his house tinkering with electronics. His only real friends were Fraw Bow, the perky girl next door who reminds him to shower and eat regularly, and Haro, a toy robot invented by Amuro to keep him company.

However, things would change dramatically on September 18th, UC 0079 when a team of Zeon mobile suits under the command of Captain Char Aznable attack Side 7 after hearing rumors of the Federation's secret project. In a flash, Amuro's community is engulfed by war. By the most unlikely of circumstances, the Gundam and its instruction manual were being transported near where Amuro was searching for Tem, and fueled by a desire to protect Fraw, he entered the machine and destroyed the Zakus attacking the shelters where the civilians had taken refuge. Tragically, this fight caused the seeming death of Tem when Amuro punched open a hole in the colony's wall and accidentally caused his father to be sucked into the cold vacuum of space. This would be just the first of many, many emotionally traumatizing moments Amuro would suffer throughout the 43 episode run of the show.

Or you could just watch it here:

Amuro would be drafted by the surviving Federation military personnel to pilot the Gundam as they escaped back to Earth on the experimental Pegasus-class assault carrier White Base. He possessed almost supernatural skill for a teenager with no combat training, and won many battles against the toughest forces Zeon could muster. His abilities would eventually be explained as the result of being a Newtype, the very sort of psychic superman that Zeon Zum Deikun had predicted would emerge in outer space, but instead of being the Principality's savior he would be its greatest enemy instead. And...

Well I can't give everything away. Suffice to say that Amuro is considered a legendary anime protagonist for a reason, and he will show up in the Origin to oppose Char as the story covers the One Year War in its later episodes.

Stay tuned. Next I will get into the White Base and its crew with a special focus on their commander, Ensign Bright Noa. Good night everyone.

 

[Grenzer]

Now this post is so large, it took me two nights to write up. But it is crammed full of great info that I think will really help viewers in the second half of the series, when we get to the One Year War. I tried not to spoil too much, but again nothing is unmarked, so be warned.



Part V: The Final Frontier (of character writeups)



White Base: The prototype Pegasus-class assault carrier designed to carry the Gundam and other Federation mobile suits into battle. Serves as the base of operations for Amuro and the other heroes for the length of the original series. I do not want to spend too much time focusing on a hunk of machinery as opposed to actual characters, but the White Base is a pretty nifty ship. It is very heavily armed and gets into combat almost as often as the Gundam, which is an aspect of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime that did not carry over much into its spinoffs (maybe the toy did not sell as well?). It remains the most recognizable spaceship in the franchise.

One other interesting tidbit that may come up in The Origin is worth mentioning. In the old series, the Zeon military did not know the actual name of White Base or even the Gundam for the first half of the series. As such, Char and the other Zeon officers would often refer to them as the ‘Trojan Horse’ and the ‘White Suit’ respectively, and among the lower ranks those nicknames were still used up till the last episodes with a mixture of fear and respect.



Bright Noa: In the UC Gundam franchise we have Amuro as the main hero, and Char as the main villain, but there is one character who stays constantly in the narrative even when those two are absent: Bright Noa, the Eternal Captain. As such, he is a familiar face who often helps to anchor the audience in later installments like ZZ Gundam and Unicorn whose casts are otherwise composed of completely new characters. Bright is like an old friend who reminds us no matter how far from home we get, and how scary and depressing things are, we need to move forward and do what is right.

Now in MSG, Bright is the supporting leader who coordinates the heroes’ effort from his command chair on White Base. Only nineteen years old, he did not get that position through improbable courage or a genius for spaceship combat tactics, but by being the last man standing. When Zeon attacked Side 7, every other officer senior to Bright was killed, and it was up to him to rally the motley collection of surviving military personal and civilians onto White Base and make the long journey back to Earth while being under constant attack from the enemy.

It goes without saying this was a thankless task, and Bright was way out of his depth. He had to impose harsh discipline to keep everyone from turning on each other and became a hated figure among the majority of the crew and the refugees he had sworn to protect. Amuro and him were complete opposites in personality and butted heads on a constant basis, and Bright was not above using violence to keep the Gundam pilot in line, which was a huge subversion from other giant robot anime from this time period which emphasized the heroes always getting along for the greater good.

The infamous ‘Bright Slap’ scene


But as they say, what does not kill you makes you stronger. Through his struggles, Bright matures into a very fine ship captain indeed. In later series like Zeta Gundam he becomes a mentor figure to the new characters and by the time of his appearance in the later part of Unicorn he has become a living legend in-universe, the only hero the audience could plausibly believe could and would step in to help out Banagher and Audrey as they find themselves increasing short on allies. In the vast ocean of grey morality that surrounds the universe, Bright is a compass for honor, honesty, and the drive to do the right thing.

And he’s English, so you know he has to be an awesome naval officer. I think the Queen revokes the citizenship of anyone who doesn’t meet that requirement, but don’t quote me on that.



Crew of the White Base: The other major supporting heroes of the series. In no particular order of importance, we have:



Fraw Bow: Amuro’s next door neighbor, a kind girl who has a huge crush on him. Unfortunately for Fraw, she watched her mother and grandfather die in the first episode, and Amuro has way too many issues to have anything approaching a healthy relationship with any woman, so they drift ever further apart. She finds purpose by supporting the crew in other roles, and watching over a trio of war orphans (see more on that below). Fraw is kind, but don’t mistake that for being soft.

Watch the full version of the ‘Bright Slap’ scene and see what I am talking about.


Actually, there is a lot of slapping to be found when Fraw is around.




Hayato Kobayashi: Another neighbor of Amuro from Side 7, and possibly the closest thing he had to a male friend before the war. Hayato is short and plain-looking, and feels very inadequate when compared to Amuro, but he is a competent and reliable young man who grows to be a valuable member of the crew, and a mobile suit pilot in his own right. He never lets his personal feelings get in the way of doing his duty, but still likes to vent a little bit every so often.


Kai Shiden: An obnoxious teenager with purple hair, lanky build, and the face of a weasel. He hated being drafted into the military as much as Amuro did, and reminds everyone around him of that on a regular basis. However, like his comrades Kai matures a lot over the course of the series and becomes less abrasive; a team player who pilots the Guncannon mobile suit which provides the Gundam with much needed fire support. He is also quite possibly the first Puerto Rican character ever to appear in an anime, although you would never guess that based on his appearance or name.


Sayla Mass: I already discussed her in other posts, but I’ll add that she is a medical student who becomes a launch operator on White Base’s bridge. She later goes on to be a mobile suit pilot in her own right who directly supports Amuro in some of his toughest fights. Not a woman to be trifled with, that’s for sure.


Mirai Yashima: A calm and mature eighteen-year-old woman who becomes the helmsman of the White Base because she was the only person still alive on the ship with experience piloting spacecraft (and only a one-seat glider at that). Her family is one of the wealthiest in the Colonies, but she hates drawing attention to that. Develops a deep and profound relationship with Bright, but the revelation that she was forcibly engaged to another man by her family, to say nothing of their professional responsibilities as naval officers prevents them from acting on those feelings. She is seen as the second-in-command and a beloved mother-like figure by the rest of the crew, and Mirai feels a great deal of pressure trying to live up to those expectations, occasionally showing a deeper vulnerability under her warm, sunny exterior.

Ryu Jose: Age eighteen. A large, stocky Afro-Argentine man, and one of the few regular soldiers from White Base who survived the initial Zeon attack in episode one. He was a mobile suit pilot-in-training, and one of the few members on the ship that could directly support Amuro in battle during the first arc of the story. Ryu is jovial and level-headed, well-liked by most of the crew. Even Amuro, who was regularly cold and hostile towards any male his own age in the earlier episodes, liked Ryu greatly and would sometimes listen to him. And you know what happens to likeable supporting characters in Gundam shows, right?

Maybe I’ve said too much.


Sleggar Law: Introduced in the second half of the series, Lieutenant Law is a fighter pilot from the regular Earth Federation forces reassigned to White Base to make up for combat losses. Unlike the other crewmembers, Sleggar is a man, a veteran soldier who was in the military even before the One Year War. He is crass, tough, and a super-macho womanizer. It is no big shock that his personality clashes with that of the established cast, but the two sides come to realize their respective value. Sleggar sees the passion and idealism of the younger soldiers and understands it is needed to win the war. Amuro, Bright, and the others learn to value Sleggar’s tremendous fighting skills, and his wisdom that was developed over many years of hard and interesting living. He becomes a well-loved member of the crew, and you know what happens to well-loved supporting characters in Gundam shows, right?

What is this feeling of déjà vu?


Sleggar shows the kids what’s what.

One last factoid, Sleggar was the direct inspiration for Roy Fokker from Macross/Robotech, as the director of that show thought such a character deserved to have a bigger role in a mecha anime.



Katz, Kikka, and Letz: Three children orphaned in the attack on Side 7. Fraw becomes their de facto guardian, and they provide much of the comic relief in what would otherwise be a very grim, somber story. Just about every plucky war orphan in sci-fi anime is copied off of this trio, but a special shutout goes to Eureka Seven, where Maurice, Maeter, and Linck ripped-off their character designs as well as their personalities.



Other Crew Members: In the grand tradition of shows like Star Trek, the White Base had a collection of ‘red shirts’ (background characters) who filled out the crew and staved off the perception that only eight people were running the ship and fighting off the vast armies of Zeon soldiers. Very few were given any characterization, but some of them showed up repeatedly and developed fan followings in that way minor characters in any long-running sci-fi franchise tend to. A quick listing of the more notable of these nobodies include Job John, a blond teenager who true to his name did any odd job required of him at the time. There was also Omar Fang, one of the few surviving cadets from White Base’s original crew who served as a bridge operator but was also an explosives expert. Marker Clan and Oscar Dublin operated the ship’s sensors and reported battle info back to Bright. Sunmalo and Masaki were combat medics who treated the wounded even under the most trying of circumstances, and Masaki was notable for being one of the only women soldiers on the ship aside from Fraw, Mirai, and Sayla. Kal and Humrau were hanger mechanics who repaired the Gundam and other mobile suits. Maximilian and Howard were two privates often seen hanging around and shooting the breeze with Kai and Hayato. Tamura was the ship’s portly but genial cook who took his duty to keep everyone well-nourished seriously, although Kai called him out for giving Amuro bigger portions. And lastly Vanmas was a Master Sergeant who often ran things on the ship’s 2nd bridge, but in later episodes directly helped Bright as casualties piled up.

Was it even necessary to do a writeup on these guys? Well, at least no one could ever accuse me of not being thorough enough.


And with that I have covered the bare-bones basics a new viewer would need to understand the background for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. I will make posts in the future, but mostly to clarify new characters or terms as they come up, and only if the show does not give a clear explanation on the assumption the viewer already knew it. If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to post them on the thread and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. Thank you for reading this to the end, you clearly have a lot of patience. Good night.

 

[Hypeathon]

Aww, crap! Foster Daddy Eggman is getting attacked... by a knight...? What?!

I may not be that big on the Universal Century, but even I gotta admit that little Amuro Ray with his Haro was a cutie-patootie!

 

[Yojimbo]

That knight made me think of Scooby-Doo immediately, lol.

RIP Papa Ral.

"Bandage."

Mobile Worker 01. Reminded me a little of the Atomic Bomb reel. I am become death...

Amuro and Haro cameo! And almost met Sayla and Char. heh.

 

[PicardMan]

Unfortunately, Adult Swim's schedule changes have been screwing up my DVR and I can't get it to record properly (It thinks SAO, JoJo and HunterXHunter are still on. I guess they haven't sent Suddenlink the real schedule). I've gotten Hulu to watch this and Food Wars. One thing I wanted to comment on was the art style and tone. The art style feels a lot more wacky and cartoony than the more gritty IBO or Unicorn. There also appears to be a bit more humor, like the cat humor. It definitely stands out and feels different.

 

[Yojimbo]

Unfortunately, Adult Swim's schedule changes have been screwing up my DVR and I can't get it to record properly (It thinks SAO, JoJo and HunterXHunter are still on. I guess they haven't sent Suddenlink the real schedule). I've gotten Hulu to watch this and Food Wars. One thing I wanted to comment on was the art style and tone. The art style feels a lot more wacky and cartoony than the more gritty IBO or Unicorn. There also appears to be a bit more humor, like the cat humor. It definitely stands out and feels different.

If I need to DVR something on Adult Swim, I use the manual scheduling method, inputting the times. Like say if I wanted a 10:00-10:30 show, I would set it to start at 9:59 pm and end at 10:33 pm. Have you tried that?

 

[PicardMan]

If I need to DVR something on Adult Swim, I use the manual scheduling method, inputting the times. Like say if I wanted a 10:00-10:30 show, I would set it to start at 9:59 pm and end at 10:33 pm. Have you tried that?

Looks like Adult Swim just now sent Suddenlink the right schedule. I'm good to go now.